The questions of global warming and high gas prices are hot topics in the media. The politicians are talking about a number of different solutions. Will these solutions help or hurt the environment? Will they be able to provide relief from high gas prices?

China faces the most terrifying ecological crisis in the world. There are no parallels in peacetime for such monumental degradation of a country’s natural resources, water and land.

The world faces the horrifying prospect of major climate change with its potential for catastrophic impact on food production and living conditions across the world. Yet, the political leaders of the major capitalist economies failed to agree on any meaningful action on this question at the recent G8 meeting in Japan.

The looming environmental catastrophe has provoked an urgent search for solutions to stop global warming and save the planet for future generations.

A great deal of hype has been generated recently by the prospect of “greener” biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. In reality, however, the potential of these new energy sources to halt climate change is small, while their use will undoubtedly exacerbate many of the problems facing the world’s working class.

When even oil-man George Bush, in a recent State of the Union address, refers to the “challenge of climate change,” you know it’s serious.

Across the U.S., this winter has been unseasonably warm. According to the British Meteorological Office, 2007 will likely be the earth’s warmest year on record. This comes on top of a flood of recent reports on global warming showing that the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions will have a devastating impact on the planet and the world economy in the coming decades unless action is taken now.

The Independent newspaper (1/9/06) had a banner front-page headline 'The Green Revolution': "In California" the paper said, "Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has defied both his President and his own party to impose the toughest anti-pollution laws in the world... while 5000 miles away in Yorkshire, protesters fight to close Drax Power Station, the worst polluter in Britain and symbol of our failure to act over global warming."

The world economy is hooked on fossil fuels: oil, gas, and coal. This dependency cannot last. All these fuels were formed millions of year ago and once used up cannot be replaced.

In the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice President Al Gore explains in simple terms the cause of global warming and why it is putting the lives of millions at risk. Anyone who cares about the world should see this film.

Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster. But the massive death, destruction, and misery that followed in its wake was entirely man-made and preventable. It was the poor, the old, the sick - overwhelmingly African American - who had no means to flee the s

Genetic engineering has become a topic of intense controversy, and with good reason. Genetic engineering involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into other, even completely unrelated, species to transfer a desired trait or character.

Nearly 100 years ago, Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle, a harrowing exposé of the meatpacking industry's repugnant abuse of workers and animals. According to Eric Schlosser's recent bestseller, Fast Food Nation, the working conditions, production methods, and sanitation in slaughterhouses of the 21st century have changed little since then.

Just before the war against Iraq began, George Bush announced a new initiative to develop hydrogen fuel cells as a new form of power for motor vehicles and other applications. At the launch ceremony Bush said that "if you're interested in our environment and if you're interested in doing what's right for the American people... let us promote fuel cells as a way to advance into the 21st century." This was met, however, by a barrage of criticism from environmental activists, who labeled it a sham and a smokescreen for doing nothing to tackle global warming.